Finally Satisfied with Slippers

Fri, 2011-04-01 00:50 — CLABBERS

After the first slipper I made and proudly displayed, I began making the second slipper. To my surprise, I had skipped 20 rows on the sole of the first slipper! That meant that I would have to make a third slipper. (sigh) I made the slippers out of 90% wool &10% acrylic. They are still too big for me, so I am going to try to shrink them a bit. The incorrectly made slipper will end up on my bulletin board to remind me of what not to do and to make sure I trust and follow directions. There should be enough yarn in it to make a stocking hate, so its fame as a slipper will be fleeting.

Have any of you guys ever intentionally shrunk wool? If so, what do you suggest?

When I make these for my son, I am going to make the smaller version, so that should work out well for him.

Hi Nehkhasi,
I am getting really good at making mistakes and then fixing them. Thankfully, most mistakes are easy, especially if you are willing to start ripping the stitches out. I did that with a project not too long ago and actually felt the ripping back to the beginning was quite therapeutic! So far, my projects are not nearly as complicated or as big as something like a sweater or some of the beautiful lace work I have seen on here. So, I work on tinking to fix my mistakes as much as possible and ripping too far back whenever possible. I guess I am always planning for future mistakes. Ouch!
Mark

Not that I am an expert on felting - or fulling - but I think the 90% wool content will allow it to shrink. It may be a bit more drawn out process but for slippers, it isn't as drastic as for hats, etc. Being able to check the size as you go is a good thing, though. -- Books, knitting, cats, fountain pens...Life is Good.

Wool shrinks really easily: Just plop it in a hot wash machine and agitate it for 5 minutes (then check and repeat until you reach the size you want). It's called felting (well... "fulling" but noone really makes a distinction). (Oh, and for the record, you might want to put it in a zippered pillowcase to keep the extra fibers out of your wash machine -- it can get a bit hairy and messy.)

I'm a bit uncertain whether your slippers will felt/shrink though... 10% acrylic sounds like you might have a washable-wool on your hands (thus: no shrinkage).

Thanks, Tim.
The label says to hand wash only and only flat dry, so it doesn't sound too washable to me. They can shrink a lot and they will still fit nicely. I am not too sure whose foot was used for the medium size, but to fit my size 10, the next pair will be a small. Thanks for the great advice.
Mark